Published
Inspections of more than 1,000 show bag toys and novelty items have yielded just five non-compliant items, a decrease from previous years.
South Australia’s Consumer and Business Services (CBS) conducted inspections of 183 show bags in the last two weeks prior to them being released for sale at this year’s Royal Adelaide Show.
Minister for Business Services and Consumers Gail Gago said she was pleased with the overall safety of the children’s items.
“The Royal Adelaide Show is such an exciting time for our children, and it is imperative to ensure that it’s not only a fun experience, but a safe experience.
“It is positive to see that our investigations this year have identified a very low number of products needing to be remedied,” Ms Gago said.
Five items were identified as non-compliant, including three projectile toys that required the correct information labels to warn about the dangers of misuse.
The projectile toys were:
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a ball shooting set
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super rocket launcher
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bow and arrow set (also detected as non-compliant in 2013 inspections).
Another show bag contained a cosmetic soap that did not display the ingredients, as required. This issue has been rectified.
The final non-compliant item was a pair of fashion spectacles that were labelled as sunglasses and could be misleading to consumers. CBS is working with the supplier to rectify this.
“Only one item was needed to be removed from show bags completely: a show bag marketed to children contained a roulette game.
“While there is no current legislation banning the sale or provision of these type of toys, CBS recommended the item be removed from the bag as it may encourage gambling in children,” Ms Gago said.
Last year, CBS product safety officers examined 1,195 items, finding nine non-compliant items. The year before, there were 15 non-compliant items among the 1,350 tested.
“Our message about safety compliance is getting through to our suppliers. Show bag suppliers are significantly improving compliance by getting more products tested by accredited laboratories before the Show each year,” Ms Gago said.
“Show bags must be safe enough for all show goers. This is extremely important, because it is about protecting consumers - particularly very young children - from injury and even death.”
Parents and caregivers are reminded to check labels on toys and novelties intended for young children to ensure they are age appropriate.
“We need consumers to be on the lookout for potential safety hazards such as small parts that can become detached from products or items with sharp points and edges, which can present serious choking and ingestion issues,” Ms Gago said.
Product safety officers will be in attendance during the 2014 Royal Adelaide Show, which runs from 5 to 14 September.
Follow-up inspections will be conducted to ensure that all products supplied are compliant. If any non-compliant items are detected, suppliers will be liable for further compliance action.
Contact details
Media contact: Tanalee Smith 0408 377 584
Consumers with product safety concerns should contact the CBS on 131 882 or visit www.cbs.sa.gov.au.
